Change These Settings Now in Gmail Montana Users

I can fully admit that there are instances that I sign up for something, generally an online service or perhaps a favorite app, and I firmly click the "agree to terms" box.  Do I read the agreement?  Absolutely not.

via GIPHY

But with the advancements of artificial intelligence, or AI, I might start paying a little closer attention to the fine print that I am agreeing to.  Including using my Gmail account, which apparently has been monitoring me this whole time.

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Change Came Several Months Ago, But You Probably Didn't Realize It Happened

Gmail, a service of Google, is a free email service for anyone across the world to use.  And yes, there are terms and conditions that you agree to when setting up your account.  It allows the service to make changes to your account, sometimes without notifying you that they have.

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Which is what Gmail did back in October of 2025, opting you and I into a setting that allows Google to scan your emails and any attachments to help support its AI tools.  The opt-in affected all users, global-wide, whether on your desktop or using the app on your phone or tablet.

Change These Settings Now in Gmail Montana Users

If you want to opt out of these settings, you must disable the feature in the "Smart Feature" settings.  Doing so will change the look of your account, however.  Users report that Gmail loses the inbox organization and it will remove tabs such as promotions, social and updates.

There has already been a class action lawsuit filed against Google claiming that they were secretly exploiting users email history.  Privacy advocates also sounded a warning that sensitive information like medical or financial attachments could be exposed or misused.  Guess we should all be getting our reading glasses when signing up for new stuff in the future!